Rae Dawn Chong (born February 28, 1961) is a Canadian-American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films Quest for Fire (1981), The Color Purple (1985), Commando (1985), and Time Runner (1993). She has become a naturalized United States citizen.

Chong says that her grandfather left a poor village in China in the 1930s to live with an aunt in Canada and although he spoke Cantonese he refused to teach his children or grandchildren. "I think my grandfather had great racial shame, which was hard on us growing up," says Chong. "We grew up desperate to know anything about our Chinese culture."[4]

Her most active period in films was during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. She has continued working in television and film. She was considered for the role of Anne Lindsey in Highlander: The Series.

Controversy[edit]

Chong provoked controversy with remarks about Oprah Winfrey during a June 27, 2013 interview for Matty P's Radio Happy Hour, remarking that Winfrey was a "great brown-noser. If you're in a room with her, she'll pick the most powerful person and she'll become best friends with them." Chong said that there was bad blood between them since Chong did Commando alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, saying, "That's when she was a total bioootch."

Chong also had words of admiration for Winfrey, noting, "I respect her and I say kudos to you and I don't give two cents about the other parts of it. She shifted the DNA in terms of our thinking of a woman of a certain size and a certain shape. I love her for that."[7]

Chong later posted a YouTube video saying that she was praising Winfrey, but that her words got twisted by the media. "Out of context, it's a most unfortunate choice of words and I regret it." Then stating, "Do I take back everything I said? No."[8]